Eight Months
by elle140
Summary: Eight months is a long time to be held captive. But nobody knows what she went through.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _Hello my lovelies! I am back and better than ever with another story! I must warn you, this one will get dark (you should be used to that by now though…I hope) and twisty (anyone get it? Greys Anatomy? No? Ok, just me.) so prepare yourselves. Don't say I didn't warn you ;)_

 _"_ _When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow"_

 _-Ursula K. Le Guin_

243 days. 5840 hours. 350400 minutes. Eight months is quite a long a time to be without your best friend. No, it's not natural. The person you trust with all your life, the one person who you look at and they just know. It seems so unnatural and unfair that the universe can take them away so, so easily. It is scary, really. To think how fast a life can be taken. Which is why when you get a second chance, you take it. You grab onto it with both hands and never let go. But when is it too late to grab on? When you're stumbling over your feet, desperate to grab on, to cling to your life. What happens when you only grab it with one hand? One finger? Can you really get your second chance? Tonight, he'd find out. He'd get his best friend back.

Derek walked up to the front door of the house followed by the SWAT team. He held us his finger to his lips. _We stay quiet. He can't know we're here._ The message was heard by the officers, nobody moved unless Derek instructed them too.

Hotch and Rossi had their own team at the back of the house. Hotch signaled for two of the officers to clear the small shed at the back right corner of the property. He glanced at Rossi quickly who held up his gun, ready to go in.

Hotch lifted the small microphone to his mouth. "Move in."

Instantly, Derek kicked in the thin wooden door, the wood splintering at the contact.

"William Parks, FBI!" Multiple voices echoed throughout the dark house, each voice towering over the next.

The house seemed empty. Each room had been cleared and there was no sign of Parks, or anyone for that matter. Hotch had pressed his lips into a thin line, "Maybe Garcia got the wrong address?"

Derek ran his hand over his head, "No man, she's never got it wrong. It's not possible. She's here, somewhere, I know it."

"Reid, nobody's here. Is there anything else?" Rossi asked through his headset.

"Hold on," papers shuffled and they could hear marker being drawn on paper, "there's a shed, back right of the property—"

"I've already got two officers there." Hotch said.

"C'mon, kid, anything?"

Just before their boy genius could answer, a voice cracked through the radio. "Agents, we've got something in the shed."

The three took off running towards the back door. The cool wind whipped them in the face, as if the universe was, once again, against them. Derek cursed under his breath as the frigid wind bit at his face, almost strong enough to hinder his running. They pushed through and eventually made it to the small shed where they found the two officers shining a flashlight down on a handle.

"It was under the rug, almost tripped over the damn handle."

"Must be an underground cellar." Rossi suggested. _The perfect place to hold someone for eight months_

"What're we waiting for?" Derek bent down and flung the small door open. "Let's go." He said as he had his gun drawn and started slowly down the creaky stairs.

Shining his flashlight around the small room, he landed on a small figure, curled up in the corner. She looked up briefly at the three men, squinting against the harsh light, before she tucked her head back in her knees.

Morgan holstered his gun, looking back at Hotch and Rossi to see them doing the same.

"JJ, we got her." Hotch breathed into the radio

Cautiously, Morgan walked towards the shivering woman. Her pale skin glistened in the dim light. He noted she was wearing nothing but an oversized tshirt, if it could still be considered a shirt. It was draped over her shoulders and was torn in multiple spots, revealing the bruised skin beneath it.

He crouched down when he was only a few feet away from her, holding up his hands in front of himself. They'd been trained in this. Always show the victim your hands, never make sudden movements, and do not, at all costs, touch them. But somehow, somehow this felt different. It felt so wrong and unnatural.

"Hey, princess, it's me. Derek." He began slowly scooting closer and paused when she let out a low cry, something so unexpected it stopped him in his tracks.

"Okay, okay. It's okay, you're safe. I'm not going to hurt you," he held up his hands directly in front of his face, "see?"

Rossi shook his head in disbelief. "Jesus. She doesn't know who we are."

Derek leaned closer to her, searching her face and body for any signs of recognition. He found none. Not a drop of recognition was in her body. She had no idea who he was. He might as well be her abductor, it made no difference to her.

"Why don't we get outta here, huh?" He said softly. Wracking his brain for a memory that maybe could help her remember, it came to him. "Princess, remember, remember you promised to see Cat's Cradle with me. Kurt Vonnegut, remember?"

She raised her head, her eyes narrowing as she looked him over. Finally, relief flooded into her veins, filling every nook and cranny in her body.

"M—Morgan?"

"Yes, baby. It's me. You're safe."

Uncurling herself, she scrambled into his chest. She flung her body into his, wrapping her hands around his back and gripped onto his shirt for dear life. He held onto her, stroking her raven hair and rubbed small circles on her back as she hurried her head into his chest. "It's okay, you're okay."

Finally, he had his best friend back.

 **Eh? How was it? Should I continue? Let me know in the reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 _Wow! I was totally surprised to get the reaction I did to this first chapter! So thanks for that! I have really been working on making my writing better, especially since I'm taking a writing class this semester. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the first chapter, and since it got such positive reviews, I thought I'd get this chapter up quickly! Enjoy and don't forget to review!_

 _Also, this is set in early/mid season 4_

 _"_ _I looked at him like a stranger, someone I'd never seen before, and he looked at me like I'd been lost to him for a thousand years and finally found"_

 _-Emme Rollins_

 _"_ _Everyone in position?"_

 _"_ _We're ready, Prentiss, go in."_

 _She opened the door to the bar and glided into the scene. Loud music, alcohol and sweat mixed in the air, the perfect party scene. She, however, was not there for the same reasons as everyone else. No, she was undercover. She wore a tight, strapless black dress and black heels._

 _"_ _I see the unsub, table seven." Hotch's voice said through her earpiece._

 _"_ _Got him." She replied while walking to the bar. She ordered a Mojito and took a seat on the stool. She'd fit his type to a tee; tall, brunette, brown eyes, confident. At first it surprised her to see her resemblance to his victims, but then realized they could use it to their advantage._

 _She thanked the bartender and sipped the drink slowly, flipping her hair slightly to drag the attention to her._

 _"_ _C'mon princess, flip that raven hair of yours again." Derek's voice broke through._

 _"_ _In your dreams." She replied quietly._

 _"_ _Prentiss, you've got him."_

 _The tall, muscular man walked up behind her, looked around and took a seat next to her. "What's a pretty girl like you doing here alone?"_

 _She plastered a big smile on her face, "Just trying to have some fun."_

 _He grinned. He tapped on the counter, "What she's having."_

 _She forced a chuckle, "Huh, that confident? You don't even know what I've got."_

 _"_ _I trust easily." He responded with a smirk, "what do you say we hit the dance floor? I can blow you away with my moves." He offered her his hand, which she accepted._

 _Ten minutes later, they had moved from the center of the floor to the right back corner, near the door._

 _"_ _Hotch, keep you eyes on her. He's moving."_

 _A younger man strolled up to Derek, a big smile on his face. "Hey man, whatcha doing? Can I buy you a drink?"_

 _"_ _Sorry, I'm busy." He replied, trying to look over the man to find Prentiss._

 _"_ _Oh, sorry, I thought maybe—"_

 _"Look man, it's no problem. But please—" As he finally stepped around the man, he searched the room for the brunette woman._

 _"_ _Hotch, I lost her, you got eyes?" He waited a second, "Hotch?"_

 _"_ _Morgan, some lady tried to buy me a drink , real persistent. You lost Prentiss?"_

 _Morgan's heart pounded in his chest. "Some guy…I lost her."_

 _"_ _They've gotta be in here somewhere." Hotch said, "Lock it down."_

 _The officers at each entrance followed the order and locked each exit and entrance._

 _Twenty minutes later and they had combed through the entire bar, unable to find Prentiss or their suspect. They had disappeared into thin air._

 _"_ _Damn it! Hotch, he must've gotten her outside somehow. She wouldn't leave willingly."_

 _Hotch looked around, desperate to see her face lost in the crowd. Little did they know, they wouldn't see her face again for eight months._

Although they had found her, Morgan quickly realized it was not the 'rescue' scene he had been picturing for the past eight months. No, he had imagined this day for months but it was quickly obvious to him that his best friend may had died in this cellar.

He managed to take off the kevlar vest and she gripped onto his pale green shirt as if her life depended on it. He could feel her shivering against him, the torn shirt clearly not doing much to shield her battered body from the chilly temperature.

"Morgan, the medics are here." Hotch said.

"Hey, Em, the medics are here, can they take a look?" The only reply he got was her body sinking into his further, if that was even possible. She buried her head deeper into his chest and thankfully, Hotch had motioned to the medics to hold off for a moment.

"If you can just get her into the ambulance we can work with that." The older medic suggested.

Morgan nodded. He quickly scooped her into his arms, his strong arms supporting her small body. "We're just going to the ambulance, okay?" She didn't budge. She had stopped shaking but now was completely detached and her eyes started down into his chest.

Once they were finally out of the cellar, Emily turned her head into his chest as they walked. The medics met him with a stretcher and he began to gently place her on it.

"No!" She cried and held onto his shirt as she was pried off his chest. Although his heart physically ached for her, he was relieved that she had shown some type of reaction or emotion. It was better than her being completely disconnected.

Hotch and Rossi stood back, shocked to see the state of their friend, colleague, in such distress.

"Morgan, why don't you go with her." Rossi suggested. Derek turned and raised an eyebrow. _Obviously_

The medics helped him get onto the stretcher and he leaned back against the soft bed, still holding her in his arms. They loaded them into the ambulance and sped off towards the nearest hospital.

Inside the ambulance, Emily kept her death grip on him and he ran his hand gently up and down her back. "Shhh, it's okay."

"Do you think we can place an IV?" The blonde haired medic questioned.

Derek was doubtful. "Emily, can the medics put in an IV? It'll help—"

She quickly shook her head. "Look, she's been missing eight months. Can it wait a few more minutes until we get to the hospital?" Derek asked, pleading them with his eyes.

The medic sighed, "yeah, that should be fine."

Only minutes later they were inside the hospital. Emily squeezed her eyes shut against the bright light, clearly not used to it. _Son of a bitch kept her in an underground cellar for eight months_

Once they were in a room, a swarm of nurse and doctors crowded into the small room. One began setting up a tray for an IV, another grabbed several viles of medication from the cabinet, and some ordering different tests. Derek could feel Emily tense in his arms, her eyes darted around the room wildly.

"Em, it's okay, they're here to help you." He tried to soothe.

Her breathing picked up as one nurse came closer, "Emily, is it alright if I get an IV started for you?"

With wide eyes, Emily violently shook her head and began backing up into Derek, although there was nowhere for her to go. She began hyperventilating and started swatting her hands at the nurse.

"She's hyperventilating, let's get .05 grams of Midazolam."

Everything happened so fast and before he knew it, the brunette stopped struggling and went limp in his arms.

"We can take it from here, Agent."

As the medical team began to pull her away from him, his heart started beating rapidly and he shook his head. "No."

"Agent, we've got her. She's in good hands."

As the hands tried to pry him away from her, he simply held onto her tighter. He couldn't let her go, not again. He wouldn't let it happen, _again._

"No!" His voice cried, tightening his grip on the limp woman. He looked down and rubbed her warm, soft cheek. He finally had her back and he wouldn't leave her now. "I just got her back!"

Suddenly, Hotch was in the room, his big hands resting on the dark agent's shoulders. "Morgan, let her go. They need to help her."

Looking into Hotch's stern, yet understanding eyes, Derek let go. He let the doctors transfer her onto the hospital bed next to them.

"Let's get a CT and X-ray, full blood and toxicology." The head doctor ordered.

"Let's get some air, let them work." Hotch said as he gently guided his younger agent out of the room.

He left her, but this time, he wouldn't let her disappear.

 **You likey? I sure hope so! I've already got the next chapter started! Please leave some reviews and let me know how I'm doing!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 _I am seriously blown away with the reviews! I want to say thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing this story! I am so excited for this story to progress, I've got a lot planned! I hope you stick along for the ride ;)_

 _Set in mid season 4 — Enjoy and don't forget to hit that review button! It keeps me motivated to write!_

 _"_ _It's hard to wake up from a nightmare if you aren't even asleep."_

 _-J.S._

Morgan paced. He could not sit still, his heart was aching the longer he was away from her.

"She was right under our damn noses, the whole time."

"Morgan, nobody could've known." JJ said, standing to rest a supporting hand on his shoulder.

He exhaled. "We should've looked harder."

"We did what we could. Strauss pulled us and there wasn't anything we could do."

 _"_ _Hotch, you've gotta be kidding me!" Derek yelled as he slammed his fists into the superiors desk._

 _"_ _It wasn't up to me. We've already spent five months investigating and haven't gotten anything. The case is going to Nancy Miller's team. They'll be handling it from this point forward."_

 _"_ _We're just giving up?" Reid asked, his voice quiet and full of uncertainty._

 _"_ _As I said, we have done all we could. I believe it's best if another unit—"_

 _"You mean Strauss thinks it's best." Morgan stated, fury raging behind his brown eyes. Like hell he was going to give up now._

 _"_ _Morgan, it's done." Hotch replied, emotionless, "JJ, I believe we have a case?"_

 _The blonde quickly gathered her flustered thoughts, "Uh, yeah." She cleared her voice, "yeah, a series of murders in Idaho."_

 _"_ _Only two point three people per every one thousand residents will become victim to a violent crime in Idaho, not to mention—"_

 _Morgan closed his eyes and held up his hand. "Kid, not know." He inhaled, "Hotch, there's gotta be a way around this."_

 _"_ _There is not. End of discussion."_

A doctor in a long white lab coat pushed through the heavy doors, glancing up as he neared the agents. "Emily Prentiss?"

Morgan halted, and looked wide-eyed at the doctor. "How is she?"

The doctor took a look around at the agents, all of whom were giving him their undivided attention. "Physically, she's stable. There is nothing of immediate concern."

"Immediate?" Garcia questioned.

The doctor sighed. "She, uh," he paused to gather his thoughts before proceeding, "she had broken ribs, a cracked collarbone, all of which have since healed. She…" he had to pause once again, his next finding even bothering him, "all ten of her toes have been broken and reset."

"Oh my god…" JJ breathed as she brought her hand up to cover her gaping mouth.

"There's signs of severe abuse. I'm sure you know more than I do about her captivity," the older man ran his finger through his hair, "honestly, I've never seen anything like it."

"Can we see her?" Dave asked.

"She's still sedated. She's not exactly, uh, aware of what's going on. From what I've seen, I believe she's in what we call a catatonic state—"

"Catatonia typically affect twenty thousand people every year, most develop it after a severely traumatizing event or mental illness such as PTSD, Schizophrenia—"

Garcia could see the impatience in Morgan's demeanor and decided to step in before he lashed out at their genius. "Boy wonder, even though I always love to hear about the endless knowledge you have stored away in that genius brain of yours, I can't listen to that."

The doctor looked around skeptically, "I've…called in our psychiatrist. She'll…do a consult with Emily soon. Give it some time. With therapy, she should improve."

"Thank you." Hotch said, extending his hand.

"Of course. I can take two of you to see her."

Morgan pleaded with Hotch. He needed to see her. After looking around at his team he nodded. "Morgan and Garcia, go. JJ I need you to handle the press. Somehow they got word."

"Damn vultures." Dave muttered.

Morgan, Garcia and the doctor walked down the brightly lit hallway before stopping in front of room A240. "Please, don't upset her. She's dehydrated and exhausted."

"We won't." Garcia promised.

As Derek entered the dim room, he noted the constant, steady beeping of the heart monitor. _She's alive, her heart is beating. She's getting a second chance._ He stopped close to the door, unsure if he should get closer to her. He could see her small body on it's side, curled up tightly. Before he could make up his mind, Garcia walked past him to the side of her bed.

"Oh, Emily." She said softly as a tear rolled down her cheek, "You're here. You're safe and you're right where you belong." Penelope pulled up a chair and sat next to the brunette woman who was staring aimlessly ahead of her. Garcia began reaching out for her hand.

"Garcia—"

Penelope ignored him and gently took her friend's hand in hers, happy when she didn't flinch or pull away. She flashed a big smile at Derek before turning back to her friend. "Em, I've missed you so much, oh my raven haired beauty is finally home."

Emily maintained her empty gaze, no movement except for the occasional blink.

"Derek? Why won't she say something, anything?"

"You heard the doctor, she's in a catatonic state. She just needs time."

Suddenly, Garcia let go of Emily's hand. "That's not good enough! She won't even look at us! There's something more—"

When he saw Emily's eyes widen and her body tense he grabbed Garcia's shoulders. "Babygirl, look at me! It's okay, she's gonna be okay. She just needs some time. She's gonna get through this, I promise you that."

Garica's stance sank. "Derek, what if…what if she's gone."

Derek sighed. He looked at his catatonic friend. "We're not going to let that happen. Right?"

She sniffled and he gently wiped away a stray tear. "Derek Morgan, you are my hero."

"What can I say." He said with a big grin. "Hey, why don't you go to the gift shop, pick out some things to spice up this room."

"It is quite dull…"

He smirked. "It sure could use a Penelope Garcia make-over."

"Oh, is that a challenge, my delicious friend? By tomorrow morning this room will be transformed." She said happily as she walked out.

Derek's smile quickly faded as soon as the technical analyst was gone. He knew he needed him to put on a strong face. Penelope Garcia thrived off of the good in the world, her soul couldn't take all the bad.

Dave opened the door a crack and told him they needed him outside. He quietly left her room, closing the door on the way out. "What's up?"

"How's our girl?" Rossi asked.

Derek raised his eyebrows.

"Right."

"I've contacted the Baltimore Police, they're inviting us in."

"In on what?" Derek asked.

"The William Parks case. He terrorized the city for months before he abducted Emily. They want to find him just as bad as we do."

"Where do we start?" Derek asked eagerly.

"Well, we profiled him as a narcissist before. He killed high profile women, women who would give him publicity."

"Something must've changed, he never kept his victims longer than a month. Why switch to eight months all of a sudden?" Reid asked.

Derek winced at the word victim. A word that would now be used to describe his partner.

"From what we know so far, he got off on the torture. Breaking her toes like that…" Rossi paused to regain his composure, "suggests he's more of a sexual sadist."

Hotch shook his head. "That's enough for now. The police chief is getting the case started. We'll have plenty of time to work the case. For now, we focus on Prentiss. We failed her once, let's not let it happen again."

 **I hope you enjoyed! I've got the next one started, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to post it as quickly as I have gotten these first few up. Just hang tight.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 _What happened to the reviews? Haha I miss seeing all your reviews! They make me so happy and really motivate me to write! I am working pretty quickly with this story as of now, however, that will soon change as school picks up again. School has been pretty chill lately, but I can see it picking up when it gets closer to summer. But don't fret, I will not give up on this story! I am really invested in this one and I can't wait to see where it goes. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to leave reviews :)_

 _"_ _In an age of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."_

 _-George Orwell_

"Chief Brooks," Hotch extended his hand and was met with the man's strong grip, "this is SSA's Morgan, Rossi, our media liaison, Jennifer Jareau and Doctor Spencer Reid. Where would you like us to set up?"

The built man pointed to a large conference room to the right. "We pulled the case files from last year, figured you might want 'em."

"Thanks. Have you been able to get any leads of Mr Parks?" Rossi added.

"Not since you found, Agent…" He looked around, unconsciously asking for help.

"Prentiss." Morgan stated dryly.

"Right, I apologize. It's been hectic since, everyone wants this guy."

Hotch nodded. "As do we. We'll set up and get started."

Brooks' face held a small smile. "How is Agent Prentiss doing?"

Hotch opened his mouth to speak, but not before Morgan spoke. "She's okay."

Brooks' brown eyes glanced at Hotch before lingering on Morgan, unable to figure out where the agent's dry attitude came from. "Good to hear. Let us know what we can do."

Hotch sent Morgan and Reid to William Parks' house to go through the cellar and his house while he and Rossi set up the conference room. Hotch's cell broke the silence.

"Garcia, what've you got."

"Well, sir, no news is good news, right? His car hasn't been spotted at any gas station, bridge or border. He's still in Virginia."

"JJ, get his face all over the news. The public needs to be aware, he may have altered his appearance is some way, possibly his hair color."

She quickly turned and headed for the door. "Got it."

"What else can I do you for, sir?"

"That's all for now." He paused, "How's Prentiss?"

Both men heard her sigh through the phone. "No change, I'm afraid. I'll report back if anything miraculous happen. PG out."

"Aaron, he's got nowhere to go. He's got no living family," Dave retorted as he flipped through the old files, "no friends, not even an old high school buddy he could hold up with. He's on his own."

Hotch narrowed his eyes, racking for something that could help them.

"What're you thinking?"

He exhaled, pressing his lips into a thin line. "How did he know we were coming? He was already gone by the time we got on site."

Rossi shrugged. "Maybe he felt the pressure of us closing in, fled before we could get to him?"

"Yeah," Hotch said and shook his head, "but why leave Prentiss in the cellar? He's too smart to leave someone who knows everything alive."

Rossi hesitated, eyeing the unit chief before speaking. "Aaron, you and I both know better. She hasn't spoken since we found her. Whatever he's done," He just barely shook his head as he wrapped his mind around what he was saying, "he knows she won't recover to tell us."

He stopped for a brief moment, just to let his words sink into Aaron's brain.

"Morgan's too upset, to emotionally involved to see it, but you and I? We've seen this kinda thing."

Hotch looked down, gathered his thoughts and moved his eyes back up to Rossi. "So we give up on her?"

"No. We fight like hell to save her. But it might not happen soon enough for this case."

Then, Derek and Reid walked back into the room, Derek's tension filling the air.

"There's nothing new at the house."

"It's the sick bastards experiment lab. He's got knives, whips, tasers," Morgan ran his hands over his head, "ropes. He's got everything."

A knock on the door interrupted the agents as Chief Brooks popped his head inside, running his hand through his dirty blonde hair. "Hey, I'm sending some detectives to the bar he was last seen at. You in?"

"Morgan, Rossi, go. Reid I want you here to work victimology. Meet back here in two hours?"

"Yeah," Derek said.

 _"_ _No, just leave me alone…" she breathed, pleading him to just go away. She was so, so tired._

 _"_ _Awe, c'mon Emily. We've got visitors."_

 _An athletically built man entered the room with a young girl draped over his shoulder. Suddenly, her body became alert and aware. "What are you doing with her?"_

 _"Emily, always trying to save the others," He said, "just like a good FBI agent, right?" He mocked._

 _Their 'visitor' roughly placed the young woman down in the reclining chair, similar to the ones found in dentist offices. "We're just having fun." He said as he began trailing down the girl's neck, his shaggy light brown hair dusting over her cheeks._

 _"_ _Look, you don't have to do that. It's me you want, right? That's why he brought you here?" He said, referring to Parks._

 _"_ _No, actually. I just need somewhere private to, uh," he smirked, "hang out with my girl. We don't mind an audience, now do we?" He said, stroking the girls flushed cheeks._

 _"_ _Just let her go…you have me. Isn't that enough?"_

 _William looked at her, an evil smirk on his face, "Oh, you are enough. It's about so much more though, don't you see?"_

 _She cocked her head at him, the exhaustion clouding her brain which didn't allow her to think as quickly as she could. A shriek from the young girl pulled her back as she watched the girl struggle under the man's heavy weight._

 _"_ _Isn't it more fun to watch, anyway?" William asked._

Morgan walked down the hallways of the hospital towards the end of visiting hours. They hadn't found anything helpful at the bar and Hotch had sent them home to get some rest. Rest, however, didn't come easy for them. Nobody could take their mind off their wounded agent and friend.

Stepping into the room, immediately he noticed the pink, sparkly decorations. The tray table next to the bed was covered in little stuffed animals, action figures and candies. Sleeping in the chair next to him was the one responsible.

He gently tapped her shoulder and she opened her eyes quickly.

"Wh—what's happening? Emily? Is she—"

"Babygirl, everything's fine. Why don't you go home, get some rest." He suggested, noticing the bags under her eyes.

"No, I'm fine. Besides, she shouldn't be alone."

"Penelope, you really think I'd leave her alone? Go. Get some rest. I'll stay here."

Finally, she gave in and packed her things before leaving. Derek took her place in the chair next to the bed and scooted closer to her. He couldn't take his eyes off her, she looked so peaceful, yet he knew otherwise. He took her hand in his, tears threatening to spill as the guilt built up.

"I'm so sorry, Emily. I'm so sorry."

 **Please leave reviews so I can write what you guys want!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 _Thanks for reviewing everyone! I just want to let you know I'm leaving for vacation for a week this Friday which means I won't be writing or posting for a little bit. Don't be alarmed, I will be back! I hope you enjoy this chapter_

 _"_ _There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."_

 _-Maya Angelou_

"Agent Hotchner, do you think Agent Prentiss would mind if I asked her a few questions?" Chief Brooks asked.

"She's only just started talking…" Hotch said slowly. He didn't, or couldn't, risk her shutting down again.

"I won't push her, I promise." He said. "I need to hear everything for myself, ya know?"

Hotch understood the chief. Being the leader of a unit had opened his eyes to this kind of thing. Being the one the public holds responsible for crimes, is, well, tough. "I understand. Agent Jareau can take you." He said, shooting a glance over at the blonde.

"Of course, let me grab keys and we'll head out."

 _JJ had arrived at the hospital just before visiting hours ended, exhausted after a day full of empty leads left them drained. The case was going nowhere, and neither was Emily. She had been in the hospital for over a week now and hadn't said a word. She just kept the same, blank stare on her face and rarely slept._

 _She walked into the dark room, opting to take a seat in the chair next to Emily's bed. She looked down at the brunette. She was turned on her side, her legs drawn into her chest and her eyes straight ahead. JJ gently pushed her long hair away from her face, something she did with Henry when he was upset or scared._

 _"_ _Em, you've gotta come back to us," she said as she lowered herself into the cotton chair, "It's time, okay?"_

 _The woman kept her gaze forward, her eyes unfocused and lacking the life they once contained. JJ sighed, disappointed at her own attempts and leaned back in the chair. She took Emily's hand in hers and simply stared at her as if she was slipping away and holding her hand would save her._

 _Five minutes later, JJ leaned forward in the chair, cocking her head slightly so her blue eyes looked directly into Emily's brown ones._

 _"_ _I know you're scared, and it must be terrifying to feel all alone. But you're not alone, okay? We'll all be here when you come back, you know that, right? We're not giving up on you." JJ said as a smirk found it's way onto her face, "Don't think you can get rid of us that easily."_

 _JJ waited a moment, her heart hoping to see any indication that the brunette had even heard her, but saw nothing._

 _"_ _I'm not leaving you. I'm right here," She soothed, running her thumb in small circles over Emily's soft skin._

 _A quiet, hesitant voice broke the silence. "I…"I'm so scared."_

 _JJ's eyes widened as she processed the voice. It was Emily's. It sounded much weaker and softer than the voice she remembered, but it was her. The silence had finally been broken._

 _"_ _I know, I know sweetie," JJ said as a tear rolled down Emily's pale cheek. JJ gently wiped it away with her thumb, "but you're alive, and you're safe. That's all that matters now. You're safe."_

 _Emily blinked and finally broke her gaze, looking up at JJ. "No, I'm not."_

 _JJ frowned, "Emily, what do you mean?"_

 _Emily paused, tears welling up in her dark eyes, her mouth twitching at the corners. "They're still out there."_

 _JJ twisted her head, trying to comprehend the statement. "They?"_

 _"_ _There were several. They all…took turns." She said, her eyes going back to their fixed gaze._

 _JJ was visibly stunned. They had the whole profile wrong. Nothing they had was even close to this; they needed to rethink everything._

JJ and Chief Brooks strolled down the hallway until they found Emily's room, an armed officer was now posted outside.

"Can I see some identification?" The young officer asked.

JJ and the Chief both held up their badges and the officer stood back.

"Please, don't push her." JJ said softly. "We just got her back."

Brooks nodded. "Of course."

JJ gently knocked before entering the room. Emily was sitting up in the bed and Morgan was sitting in the chair next to her. He was in the middle of telling her stories when the two entered, causing him to turn his head to look at the two intruders. His hand immediately went to the butt of his glock, but relaxed when he recognized the two.

"Hey, this is Chief Brooks. He wants to ask you a few questions, is that okay?"

Emily peeled her eyes away from the suddenly intriguing white sheets to look up at the two visitors. Her eyes met JJ's calm blue ones before moving over to the foreign man. Instantaneously her heart began pacing and she felt as though her chest was caving in, denying any air from entering. Derek noticed her sudden change and furrowed his eyebrows while looking at JJ. "Emily?"

Emily's body was wracked with uncontrollably shaking as her lungs desperately sucked in the air they vitally needed. "N—no…no…"

JJ quickly turned to the Chief and escorted him out of the room where they waited outside.

Inside the small room, Emily felt as though the walls were closing in on her. Moments later, a nurse was standing next to the bed and placed an oxygen mask over the brunette's face as her eyes darted frantically around the room, fear filling her once vibrant eyes.

"Hey, look at me," Derek said as he delicately took her quivering hand in his. "Just breathe, it's okay."

Several moments later, Emily had calmed down enough that the nurse felt comfortable taking the mask off. "If you need anything else, I'll be right outside."

Derek smiled softly, nodding his thanks, but never took his eyes off the woman in front of him. She was now curled on her side, the empty gaze once again taking her away.

"No, c'mon Emily. What's going on?"

She blinked, her eyes remained straight ahead. He sighed and closed his eyes. _Damn it_

"I knew it was too soon, she isn't ready for other visitors!" JJ said as she paced in front of the door. "Especially… _male_ visitors."

"Agent Jareau, I'm sorry, this is all my fault. I should've known…"

JJ paused and ran her hand through her hair, "No, no it's not you. She..she's just not ready and we should've known."

"There's no way you could've known."

Both turned towards the door to see Morgan walking out, quietly closing the door behind him. "She's calm now, but she isn't talking."

"Damn it…" JJ sighed.

"Let's head back to the station, maybe the others have something."

 _"_ _My beautiful lady," William said, running his hand down her arm, "we're going to have fun tonight."_

 _Emily remained still in the chair. Her will to fight had left a long time ago. She had no idea how long she had been here, but it was long enough for her to know the team wasn't coming any time soon._

 _He pulled out his pliers, the kind Emily's dad kept in his toolbox when she was a kid._

 _"_ _This little piggy went to the market…"_

"Sugarbabe, what've you got for us?" Derek asked.

Instead of her usual chirpy response, her tone remained somber. "Who's with you right now?"

Derek frowned. "Uh, Rossi, Reid and Hotch. Jayje is with Prentiss. What's up mama?"

"So I did some digging, and found some supposedly sealed records,"

"Let me guess, your magic fingers broke through?" Derek said.

"Oh, my delicious thunder, you are correct. Chief Brooks and William Parks were arrested in 1975 for attempted rape their freshman year in high school."

Hotch arched his eyebrows while Dave cocked his head. "Brooks never mentioned that before."

"Garcia, what happened with the case?" Reid asked.

"Nothing. Girl dropped the charges and disappeared."

Hotch sighed. "He was young, made a mistake?"

Reid shook his head. "At least seventy percent of male juvenile offenders are repeat offenders by the time they reach adulthood. It's likely the two of them have some type of history, Brooks' may be sealed, or maybe the victims dropped the allegations?"

"We tread lightly with this, understood? We have no real reason to believe Brooks was involved with any of this. He's a respected officer. I'll call JJ, you guys dig through anything you can find."

"Hotch, Emily shut down when Brooks came to the hospital."

Hotch stopped in his tracks. "What?"

"When he came into the room, she lost it. Nurse said she might've had a panic attack. She hasn't spoke since."

"You didn't think that was important to tell us?" Rossi asked.

Morgan shrugged. "JJ and I figured it was because he was a man…but now…jesus." He said as he ran his hands over his head.

"He doesn't go near her," Hotch said, "hell, none of his detectives go near her until we know exactly what happened the last eight months. Understood?"

The three men nodded and Hotch quickly excused himself to call JJ.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 _Look who is finally back! I apologize for not getting a new chapter up while I was on vacation, I didn't have my laptop with me. I did, however, post a oneshot titles Thirty if you want to go and check it out!_

 _I am so glad to be able to sit down and write for this story again, I've got some big plans coming! Please don't forget to leave reviews...they fuel my inner writer lol. But seriously. They do motivate me._

 _Anywhooo, enjoy!_

 _Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it._

 _-Helen Keller_

"What else can you tell me about the charge?" Derek asked, his grip unintentionally tightening on the steering wheel.

Penelope's sigh designated through the phone. "Derek, you know I'd search through every file, every sealed or expunged case to help you lovely crimefighters find this sicko. But there's nothing else to tell." She paused. "The girl dropped the charges."

"Hazel Greves?"

"You got it. Bossman and Jayje are going to talk to her now." Penelope leaned back in her chair, tapping the head of one of the many figurines that lined her desk. "How's Emily?"

"I just parked, I'm going in now. I'll call if anything changes."

"Take care of our raven haired beauty."

"I always do." He retorted as he hung up and strolled into the hospital. Fortunately, it was a slow day at the hospital and the staff personal seemed relaxed and smiled at him as he walked past the front desk. He flashed his badge at the new officer stationed in front of Emily's room and he stepped aside for the agent to enter.

"Hey, Prentiss." Derek said casually, setting his glock and credentials on the small desk next to the door. He sat down next to her and looked her over. She hadn't said anything since her encounter with Chief Brooks, the emptiness and unfocused gaze taking over her eyes once again.

A small knock on the door startled him as the doctor peaked his head in. "Agent Morgan? May I come in?"

"Of course." He said, leaning back in the chair.

"I have a few things I need to discuss with you regarding Emily." The brunette man said, glancing over at his catatonic patient. "We are weaning her off some of her meds, such as the morphine, mild sedative and a few others."

Derek allowed a small smile to stretch across his face. "That's good, right? It means she's closer to being discharged?"

The doctor tore his eyes away from Derek's and focused back on the woman for just a moment. "We've noticed some signs of, uh, withdrawal as we lower the dosages."

Derek's shoulder dropped. "Withdrawal? Are you sure?"

"Unfortunately, we are." He said, his heart going out to the darker agent, "look, we don't know the exact drugs she was taking—"

"She wasn't _taking_ them willingly." Derek said sharply. "She was forced."

The young man nodded. "Of course. But we are running tests and hope to find something so we know what we're dealing with."

"When will you know?"

"Hopefully later today. For now, we'll keep her on fluids and supplemental oxygen. I'd also like to start her on a drug called Clonidine—"

Derek's eyes widened and he stood up. "You want to put more drugs into her system?"

"Clonidine is a drug used to help reduce the symptoms of withdrawal. With caution, it will help her."

Derek felt the tears rush into his eyes, disbelief and shock coursing through his veins. He was going to have to watch a friend go through withdrawal, _again._ "Yeah, just do what you have to."

"Again, I'm so sorry. I'll come back in a bit with the results." He said as he stepped back outside into the hallway and left Derek alone with his silent partner. He cocked his head slightly, looking at her. _How did this happen? How did I let this happen?_

"Penelope Garcia speaking."

"Babygirl—"

"Oh Derek! How's our girl? Please tell me she's doing okay!"

Derek closed his eyes for a moment, unable to handle the chirpiness of the technical analyst. "Garcia, connect me to the team and put me on speaker."

"Okay…" She said, confusion laced her voice as she did as she was told. "The whole team is here."

"The doctor came in, they're weaning some of Emily's meds."

"That's good news, right?" JJ asked, an ounce of hope filled her body.

"You didn't let me finish. She's showing signs of withdrawal."

The room fell silent. It felt as if a crushing weight had fallen on top of the agents, taking the air out of their lungs, leaving them speechless. JJ quickly glanced at Reid who had seemed to be a shade paler than he was only moments ago.

"They're running a dug test now." Derek's voice pierced the air.

"Morgan, should we come to the hospital?" JJ asked.

He thought for a moment. As much as he so desperately needed to be with his family and have them with him, he knew they had jobs to do. Tracking down the son-of-a-bitch who had done this proved to be a harder task than they had hoped. He knew his friends were where they needed to be and he was where he needed to be. Watching Emily go through withdrawal, that would be near impossible, but it didn't require the entire team as an audience. He could, he would, handle it.

"No, I've got it. You guys keep going, and find this asshole." He finally said. "Did Hazel Greves give you anything?"

"She's married with two kids now, her husband doesn't know anything." Rossi started, "she said she was confused and adamantly denied that anything happened."

Derek exhaled sharply. "Damn. Do we have anything else? Any word on Parks?"

"The man is pretty close to Houdini." Rossi said.

"I haven't been able to spot him at any surveillance tapes. I've got all my machines working like smooth jelly, but even they can't find anything on our disappearing master."

"Garcia, keep all the searches going, maybe we'll catch a break. It's time to question Chief Brooks." Hotch informed them, putting the files from his hand back into their respective folders. "Reid, a word?"

Everyone glanced at their young genius who had been silent since the call began, seemingly unfocused and dazed. JJ gently squeezed his shoulder as the rest of the team slowly funneled out of the room and the call was ended.

"Reid, if you want to take a day, I completely understand."

Reid blinked several times, unable to control the multitude of facts rolling through his mind. "You know, drug detox isn't always successful the first time, many patients have to repeat their program several times—"

"Reid—"

"And the symptoms can be horrible, Hotch. Sweaty, clammy skin, nausea, vomiting, agitateion, delirium, hallucinations, insomniaia—"

"All things you experienced after Thomas Hankel." Hotch said, raising his eyebrows slightly at the younger man. "Reid, it's okay to not be okay. We'd all understand if you took a day to—"

"I know how she feels, what she's thinking." His face twitched as he struggled to convey his thoughts as he remembered his own ordeal. "I don't need a day, I need to find the man who did this."

…

"Dilaudid? You're sure?"

Doctor Nelson folded over the tox-screen files and scanned the list for the desired drug. "Yes," he pointed to the small box that had a check mark. "It's a narcotic—"

Derek ran his hands over his head. "Yeah, I know what it is."

Doctor Nelson raised an eyebrow. "You've experienced it before?"

Morgan sighed. "No, but a friend has."

"I'm sorry. Then you'll know his highly addictive and the withdrawal will be tough, but it has to be done."

Derek nodded. He didn't need reminders of Reid's withdrawal. How he had taken a few weeks off to recover, but he never fully healed.

Once Doctor Nelson left, he pulled out his phone and dialed Hotch.

"What's going on?"

"The drugs he had her on, it's unbelievable. They found traces of hallucinogens and all kinds of narcotics."

Hotch waited while his agent paused. He could sense there was more. "And?"

"They found Dilaudid in her system."

"Damn." Hotch nearly whispered, his brain recalling the effects the drug had on Reid a few years back. A wreaked havoc on the young man, not to mention the tension is caused in the team's dynamic. "You're staying with her?"

"If I can?"

"We've got it here. Don't worry about anything, just stay there."

"Thanks. Call if you get anything from Brooks."

Hotch hung up and put his phone back into his pocket as he looked over William Parks file. They needed a lead as soon as possible or he knew Strauss would pull them. He could not let that happen a second time. He would not fail her a second time.

Only minutes later Hotch and Dave were sitting across from Chief Brooks in an empty conference room.

Brooks looked at both agents, his eyes squinted with confusion. "You guys gunna ask me something or just stare?"

"That depends, Chief." Rossi said. "See, our technical analyst found something that's, uh, pretty interesting, I'd say."

"You know William Parks. Met him in high school, right?"

Brooks visibly stiffened in his chair, narrowing his eyes even further at the two agents. "Yeah, we both lost our parents young. We bonded over it, I guess. We lost touch after college."

"You didn't think that was important?"

He shrugged. "It was a long time ago. We weren't very close."

"That's funny." Rossi said as he scoffed. "Because I don't think two, well, acquaintances, would try and assault a classmate together."

Brooks let a smug smile creep onto his face. "Hazel? We didn't do anything to her, she dropped the charges. You can ask her."

"What did you do to her, huh? What did you do so she wouldn't talk?"

"Didn't do anything in the first place, _agent_." He snarled. "Now, may I get back to work?"

"One more question." Hotch said. "You went and visited Emily at the hospital a few days ago."

"I did. Needed to see if she knew anything we didn't."

Rossi leaned closer to the man, folding his hands in front of him. "You see, James, she hasn't spoken since she saw you. I heard she kind of shut down when she saw you."

"So? Victims of assault often do that around men." Brooks argued.

"Sure she didn't recognize you?" Hotch shot back.

Brooks' eyes widened. "What're you implying here? That I did this?"

"Should we?"

Suddenly, Brooks relaxed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You'll never tie me to it."

The door opening tore the men away from their stand off, and JJ's face peaked in. "Hotch, we've got something." She said, but her face fell to a frown as she picked up on the tension. "It can wait if—"

"No, we're done here." Hotch spat. "For now."

Brooks smiled and quickly slipped out of the room. "Jeez, smells like a bullfight in here. Did he give anything up?"

"No, but he just jumped to the top of our list. We need something to tie him to Parks. Get Garcia to track down William Parks' grandmother." He told Rossi who nodded and walked out.

"What've you got?" Hotch asked the blonde.

"Garcia's search. Parks tried to buy a gun at some roadside stand. The owner recognized his face and tried to call the police, but he ran off before the cops got there."

"Okay, we've got something. Get Rossi and head over to the stand, maybe he can give you something."

 _Eh? Is it any good? I've already started the next chapter so hopefully it will be posted later this week! Please leave a review if you want...please? I'm begging you ;)_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 _Prepare yourselves…this chapter is rough and I struggled to write it._

 _"_ _When life gets too hard to stand, kneel."_

 _-Unknown_

 _…_

"Derek?" She said as he hand reached up towards his face. "I…I can't do this anymore."

Derek rubbed the dark brown hair away from her face, a thin layer of sweat engulfing her pale skin. "Hey, baby, I'm right here."

"They'll be back…they always come back." She inhaled sharply, her unfocused eyes darting around the small room, yet never focused on anything specific. "Please don't leave, I can't do it alone, I—I can't."

"Emily, I'm not going anywhere." His hand gripped her clammy hand tightly, serving as his lifeline to her. He had been sitting by her bed since the early morning hours and she was going through full withdrawal within hours. She was on oxygen, an IV with fluids and Clonidine. Whatever 'relief' they were supposed to provide, Derek saw none. Early, she had only been sweating with a low grade fever but quickly progressed to delirium and hallucinations, which she was experiencing now. Doctor Nelson and the nurses checked in every twenty minutes to make sure her vitals were steady and to adjust the medicines. They'd told him he was being exactly what she needed: a supportive partner.

She quickly crashed again, exhaustion consuming her entire body and she shut her eyes. Derek watched as she succumbed to the exhaustion and he called Hotch for an update.

"Brooks is on the top of our list. Garcia tracked down Parks' Grandmother, JJ and Rossi are headed their now."

"You think she'll give us something?"

Hotch sighed. "Hopefully. Strauss is breathing down my neck about our time spent on this case."

"Screw protocol. We can't give up again."

"We won't." Hotch paused. "Parks tried to buy a gun at a roadside stand—"

"And?" Derek said excitedly.

"He couldn't give us much, but we know he's driving a white pickup."

Derek sighed. "Well, at least it's something."

"How's Emily."

Derek exhaled, his eyes falling onto the sporadic rise and fall of Emily's chest. "Not good. The withdrawal is…it's bad."

"JJ is going to stop by later so you can get some rest."

Morgan shook his head. "No, Hotch I'm fine here."

"It's not a discussion. You need rest, Derek, just as much as she does. You can't give up on yourself."

Derek finally gave in, agreeing that a nap and maybe a shower would be beneficial. The two hung up just as Emily began stirring on the bed. Soft moans escaped her dry lips as her head twitched from side to side.

"No…no more, please. I don't want anymore."

"Emily, it's okay, it's all over." Derek soothed.

Tears pricked her eyes and she blinked them out. "Please, please…" She cried weakly. "Derek, please get him _off me_ …please, help."

Tears were not a common thing for Derek Morgan and he prided himself with having a firm hold on his emotions, but he lost it. Listening to her soft cries for help, for _him_ to help her, broke everything within him. The once strong walls came crashing down and the emotion hit him like a truck, crushing his soul.

With tears flowing freely, he grasped her hand, rubbing small circles with his thumb. "You're okay," he choked, "I'm here now." He gently dabbed a cool washcloth over her forehead, her hazy brown eyes looking into his.

"I can't do this…" She cried. "Make it stop, _please_."

Derek looked into his friends eyes, trying to decipher the meaning of her sentence. Was she still delirious or was she lucid again and talking about the withdrawal? Before he could ask her, she closed her eyelids and passed out. He felt some degree of relief every time she fell unconscious. She was no longer feeling the draining effects of the drug withdrawal. No longer crying and screaming at things that weren't real. Finally at peace.

"Hey." A soft voice came from the front of the room.

JJ.

"You didn't have to—"

JJ rolled her eyes. "Hotch said you'd fight me. But Garcia said she'd come here herself and drag you home if she had to."

"I'd like to see her try."

JJ raised her eyebrows at the dark agent in the chair. "Derek Morgan," she began, "you have five seconds to get your butt off that chair and outside this room." JJ said firmly, mimicking the tone she would use to discipline a small child.

"Alright, mama bear, don't pounce just yet." He said as he stood up and gathered his belongings. "Call me if anything changes."

JJ nodded and Derek took one more look at the woman on the bed. "Maybe she'll talk to you?" He asked rhetorically before retreating from the room and down the hall. Once he'd left, JJ closed the door and took a seat next to the brunette woman who was sleeping. She rubbed her hand through her brown hair, rubbing small circles on her forehead, similar to the soothing she gave Henry while he cried.

"Emily," she said gently, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, "what did they do to you."

 _She sat on the cold, cement ground, shivering at the chills the floor sent though her body. The sound of water dripping had been a constant annoyance for the past three days, never stopping or changing speeds. The same damn drop. Drop. Drop. Drop. She had tried to stop it, tried crawling across the small room to turn the damn sink off but never could. The chain around her ankles stopped her just short of the handles. She'd tried forcing herself, ignoring the nagging pain as the chains tightened around her ankles, but it was impossible._

 _"_ _Please! Make it stop!" She cried, squeezing her eyes shut as she rocked back and forth, desperately trying to think of something, anything else but the dripping. William had come down two days ago to give her a sandwich and water, only laughing at her when she pleaded with him to turn it off._

 _"_ _You've only been with me a month, my love. Don't let a little water break you just yet." He said with a wink before going back up the stairs._

 _Now, the noise was the only thing she could hear. When she managed to sleep, usually because the exhaustion took her, the first thing she heard was the dripping. She didn't know how much more she could take._

 _"_ _C'mon Emily, it's nothing. You're being pathetic." She thought to herself just as the door swung open and three men entered, one being William. She sat up straighter. She wouldn't show them fear._

 _"_ _Emily, I'd like to introduce you to some buddies of mine." The two other men stood in front of her, making vulgar comments about her nearly naked body. "Brody and James."_

 _She looked at both men and her heart dropped. The second one. James. She knew him._

 _"_ _Chief Brooks?"_

 _"_ _The one and only." He said with a sadistic grin._

 _How had they missed this? They're profilers for heavens sake. She'd been working with this man for almost a week now and he hadn't rung any warning bells for any of them. He seemed like a dedicated Chief. All those girls he seemed so worried about, now the though of it just made her sick. Maybe they weren't as good as they thought they were._

 _"_ _I've been waiting for this moment every since I saw you. I knew you were next."_

 _"_ _Hey! Don't be takin' all the credit, dude. I'm the one—"_

 _James took a deep breath, a death glaze waxing over his vibrant eyes. "William."_

 _William and Brody both took a step back, neither wanting to upset the man further. The moment gave Emily a second to think. Brody and William were definitely not in charge, James held onto them with a grip so tight neither could get free. She decided that he called the shots and was the controller. But how did they not tie him to it?_

 _Seconds later he tore her away from her thoughts as his belt and pants dropped to the floor. He slithered over to her, a grin plastered on his face. It was then, that exact moment, that she couldn't hide her fear. She knew what came next. She knew his other role in all this. He would be the first to break her._

"It seems that the worst is over." Doctor Nelson reported. "Usually the symptoms peak after one or two days and she seems to be past that hurdle."

"Is she lucid?" Morgan asked.

"We think so. She hasn't said much, but she's aware of our presence and answers our questions."

"Can we see her?" He immediately asked.

"One at a time. I don't want to overwhelm her." The doctor said.

"I'll go—" Morgan said.

Hotch shook his head. "JJ, you go. I think she'll open up more to you." He told the blonde who quickly walked to Emily's room.

Morgan's eyes widened in shock. "Hotch, what the hell?"

Hotch turned to face the younger man, his stoic expression plastered on his face. "We need to get more information to go on and Emily may feel more comfortable—"

Morgan took a step back in disbelief. "More comfortable? We're partners, man. I trust her with my life."

"Derek, we don't know what she went through." Rossi added and a silence fell over the three men, all with the same assumption.

…

"Em? Can I come in?" JJ asked softly from the doorway.

Emily nodded and JJ stepped in quietly, shutting the door behind her. "I'm glad you're feeling better, we all are."

"The whole team's out there?" Emily asked in a whisper.

"Yeah. Well except Garcia and Reid. They're at Quantico."

Emily nodded slowly, fiddling with the fibers from the blanket. "Did…did you find them yet?"

JJ's shoulder's dropped. "No, we haven't." She paused. "I was hoping you could tell me anything else you remember, maybe it'll help?"

Emily hesitated before reluctantly agreeing. JJ sat in the chair next to her bed, a feeling of apprehension washed over her. She felt like she barely knew the woman sitting on the bed, yet she'd known her for years and considered the brunette one of her closest friends. Eight months sure changed everything.

"I don't know if you remember, but Chief Brooks came in a few days ago—"

"I remember."

"You…uh.."

"Freaked out?" Emily said with a sheepish grin.

JJ nodded, a small, but encouraging smile appeared on her face and Emily continued.

Emily swallowed the growing lump in her throat, her heart picking up its pace as her mind went back to the cellar. "He was the first…"

"The first?" JJ asked.

"I'd been there for a month. At least that's what he told me."

"Who told you?"

"William told me." She said, a hint of annoyance laced her voice. "James…he, uh, he raped me." Emily's voice was cold and detached, her eyes stared straight past JJ but focused on the empty air. The lack of emotions on her face shook JJ to her core. She'd just admitted out loud that she'd been violated in the worst way and had shown almost no emotion.

"Emily…" JJ began, unable to find the right words. 'Sorry' seemed so meaningless. I'm sorry you were raped and tortured while we were flying to California to work a different case? 'I'm sorry' meant nothing.

"I'm fine." Emily insisted, her FBI agent self coming to the surface for the first time in a while. "There were three of them, including William and James."

JJ nodded. "Do you know the third man's name?"

"Brody. I don't know his last name, I'm sorry."

JJ shook her head. "That's okay, Emily."

JJ could feel the tension radiating off of Emily, the conversation clearly affected the brunette even if she didn't admit it.

"Did they ever take you somewhere else?" JJ asked, clearing her throat, "maybe in the car, or just outside?"

Emily shifted in the bed, avoiding eye contact with JJ at any cost. "No." She stated. "Are we done?"

"Yeah, that's all for now." JJ looked over Emily. She'd stared down at the blankets and started fingering the white sheets.

"The team is still out there?"

JJ smiled. "Yeah, do you want me to get them? I'm sure they'd love—"

"No. Not yet." She briefly glanced at JJ, her empty eyes burning a hole in JJ's chest. "I just…"

"It's okay, they'll understand."

"I'm sure Morgan wants to see me, but…"

JJ chuckled, attempting to lighten the air. "Don't worry about that tough guy, he'll live."

Emily forced a small smile, one that JJ easily saw through. Their recent conversation clearly took an emotional toll on Emily and JJ could sense she wanted to be left alone.

"I'll go let them know." She said as she walked towards the door. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

Emily nodded but said nothing, her empty gaze now directed at the window. Once the door finally closed, she let out a breath and sank back into the bed. She closed her eyes, letting a silent tear slide down her cheek.

 _Sorry about the wait, I've been super busy lately. But I hope the wait was worth it, I worked really hard on this chapter. See you again soon xoxo_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 _I think Monday's will be my new posting day for this story! What do you guys think? Anyway, keep reviewing! My motivation feeds on your reviews, seriously._

 _"_ _To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved."_

 _…_

"Garcia, how many Brodys live within a fifteen mile radius of Baltimore?" Derek asked from the speaker phone.

"Too many, let me tell you. One hundred."

"Emily said he has dark brown hair and brown eyes." JJ said. "She couldn't remember much else."

"Oh, how is my beautiful gumdrop, is she—"

"Garcia." Hotch said firmly.

"Right. Sorry, sir." She took a deep breath as her computer's magic began narrowing down the list. "That narrows it down to fifty. Anything else?"

"Take out anyone under twenty-five and over fifty. She thought he was mid thirties." JJ said.

A pause of silence filled the room. "Okay, my list is getting shorter. I've taken out anyone who is handicapped or terminally ill." She paused again. "Alright, I've got twenty-two names."

"Do a background check on all twenty-two, look for anything that can give us probable cause." Hotch directed her.

"Oh, bossman, I'll dig so deep you'll know if they so much as stole a penny from a dog." She said as she clicked out.

"A penny from a dog?" Rossi questioned, amused.

Everyone smiled briefly, appreciative of the light the technical analyst managed to bring them.

"We need to find the third partner, we can't let them slip through our fingertips." Hotch said.

Suddenly, a young detective came into the room, panting as if he'd just ran a marathon. "We've got something." He paused to catch his breath, "William's Parks' car has been spotted. We've got patrol cars following him on a high speed chase—"

"Let's go." Hotch said as they all grabbed their jackets and nearly ran to the SUVs.

…

Hotch and Rossi rode in an SUV, speeding down the interstate trying to catch up with the patrol cars who'd been following the car for ten minutes now.

"I see it, right up ahead." Rossi pointed out, her heart hammering inside her chest. They were so close to having one more piece of the puzzle.

Hotch maneuvered in between cars, the blue and red lights spinning and flashing above them. Finally, they caught up with the four other cars, one on either side and two behind their target. They were so close now, he could feel it.

Suddenly, one patrol car sped in front of the car, causing the driver to swerve to the side, slowing down substantially. However, instead of trying to pull around and speed away, the car came to a steady stop. The unit chief slowed the car to a stop and the three agents nearly flung themselves out of the car, guns drawn.

"Do not shoot! Do not shoot!" Hotch yelled at the officers who had their weapons aimed at the car.

The car door slowly opened, a man stepped out with his hands up. But what grabbed Hotch's attention was the smug smile on the man's face.

"Why is he surrendering so quickly?" Rossi questioned as Hotch slowly walked towards the man.

Hotch eyed the man cautiously as he approached him. Rossi was right. William Parks was not a man who surrendered. Either way, Aaron cuffed him and put him in the back of a squad car.

"Agent Rossi will be riding back with you." Hotch told the young officer who nodded and got into the car.

"Do not let him out of your sight." Hotch said sternly before Rossi got into the passenger seat.

One out of three.

…

Rossi exited the interrogation room, his shoulder slumped and disappointment written all over is face. "He won't say anything."

"Let him sit. We have enough to charge him with the kidnapping of a federal agent. He's not going anywhere."

JJ knocked on the door lightly and looked at the two senior agents, her eyes wide and worried. "Brooks is gone."

Hotch tilted his head slightly. "Gone?"

"He left at lunch and never came back."

"Damn it…" Rossi muttered. "He ran."

Before Hotch could finish processing their new information, Garcia called him.

"Sir, I think I found our guy. Brody Pullman, he has a history of assault and battery, even has a restraining order against him by an old girlfriend. He lives three blocks from William Parks."

"Send his picture to Morgan, hopefully Prentiss can I.D him."

After a few clicks, the picture was sent. "Done. Anything else I can do for you fine fellows?"

"Send us Chief Brooks' address. We think he ran."

After they had Brooks' address, Hotch sent Reid and Rossi to check out his home while Garcia put and APB out on his car. Emily had successfully identified him, allowing them to officially label him a suspect. Hotch reentered the interrogation room, letting the door slam behind him.

"Brody Pullman." He said bluntly.

William's grin fell for a moment before returning to his face. "Don't know 'em."

Hotch paced around the man so he was standing behind him. "William, we've got enough on you to put you away for the rest of your life. Your DNA was found in three other women, not to mention the cellar we found Agent Prentiss in is at _your_ home. Now, you help us and I will tell the judge you cooperated. Your choice." Hotch spat as he leaned down and put his hands on the table in front of William.

William simply leaned closer to Hotch and narrowed his eyes. "I don't know him."

…

Rossi and Reid had just gotten back to the station, with Brody in custody. They had deemed Brody as the submissive, weaker piece in the puzzle, the man hadn't even tried to flee town. He'd been sitting at his computer, where they found thousands of child pornography files.

"Brody, you're looking at some pretty hard time," Rossi said, casually flipping through the man's file. "Our technical analyst found thousands of deleted child pornography files on your computer."

The man shook his head. "I—I don't know—" He mumbled.

"Cut the crap. We're not here for the files, Brody. Emily Prentiss. She identified you."

"Emily? You found her?"

 _Bingo, Rossi though. We've got the right man._

Rossi made mental note to thank the analyst for her accuracy while he noticed his almost relieved tone, as if he cared about the woman. "Have you been watching the news lately? We found her a week ago."

The relief in his eyes faded and he glanced around the room, much less put together than his partner, William. "I…I don't know her."

Rossi chuckled. "Brody, we know you were involved. And with your child pornography charges, you'll have quite a fun time in prison. I hear prisoners _love_ to get their hands on guys like you."

Fear took over the man sitting across from him, beads of sweat quickly formed on his forehead.

"Now, Brody. You have two options here. You can help us track down James Brooks and I'll put in a good word with the prosecutor, or you can go straight to prison."

The man hesitated for a moment.

"Where would Brooks' go?"

"I don't know, I swear. He never told me anything, ever." He said, desperation laced in his voice. Rossi had no choice but to believe the man. They knew Brody was the weakest link and would be the most likely to talk, but it also meant, unfortunately, that he knew the least.

"So, what then? You were the door mat in the group?"

"No!" He cried and stood up, almost as if to show his massive size and to intimidate the older profiler. "No. I helped her."

Rossi raised his eyebrows. He helped her? He almost laughed. "We must have different definitions of 'help' if that's what you claim you did."

"I did! I fed her and gave her water, blankets and towels. She thanked me." He finished with a shy smile.

The profiler slammed his fists on the table. "If you wanted to _help_ her, you should've gotten her _out_ of that hell hole."

Brody was stunned, his eyes widened and Rossi could've sworn he saw him tremble. "I'm sorry. They would've killed me. You don't know them like I do. They're crazy."

He narrowed his eyes and sat across from the man, who seemed to be ready to have a conversation. "How'd you meet?"

"Me 'n William, we've been buds since college. I didn't know he had this…this side to 'em until one day he said he had a surprise."

Rossi nodded to encourage him to continue.

Brody took a breath before continuing. "He brought me out back, into his shed. He pulled up the latch and we went downstairs. I didn't even know he had it until that day. She was on the ground, her eyes were closed. Will told me he drugged her, but I couldn't take my eyes off her. I tried to talk him out of it, I really did. But Will…he's stubborn."

"Did you know about the other rapes?" Rossi asked, forcing the image of his unconscious colleague out of his mind. For now.

"He told me that day…I couldn't believe it."

"When did Brooks enter the group?" Rossi asked.

"Same day. He came down a few minutes after us, Will told him that he got 'er, that it was his turn." Brody briefly closed his eyes, swallowing the growing lump in his throat. "He raped her once she was awake. I wish he'd done it while she was still out."

David Rossi had seen quite a lot in his years spent at the BAU. They dealt with the worst of the worst on a daily basis, and each time he was able to move on to the next case, locking the previous one somewhere deep in his mind. But now? His worst suspicions were just confirmed. They handled a plentiful amount of rapists, which meant they interacted with the victims as well. Paranoia, PTSD, trust issues and nightmares were just the surface. What troubled him the most was their eyes. The lost, empty look that was trapped in their eyes haunted him. He never thought he'd see a day where _that_ look was in one of his friend's eyes.

Holding back the bile that rose in his throat, Rossi eyed the man. He quickly stood up and had the door open when Brody spoke. "For what it's worth, I didn't touch her. William and James…they're sick."

"It's worth nothing." Rossi replied and left.

 _The cellar door was shut, but he still had to do his duties. James would not hesitate to kill him if he did not. He pulled out his key and walked down the stairs into the dark room. He pulled the string and the lightbulb illuminated the room. The small figure in the corner squinted and scooted back into the wall._

 _"_ _Emily, it's just me." He said as he pulled out the water bottle, sandwich and needle._

 _Her hazy eyes looked at him, yet he didn't see the fear disappear, it only intensified._

 _He opened the cold water bottle and put it to her lips. She slurped the cool liquid down and devoured the sandwich when he offered it to her. He sat on the ground only feet away from her for several minutes, taking in her appearance. She was shivering slightly, her eyes were glossy and her gown was hanging limply off her slim frame._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, I have to…" He said as he pulled out the needle. She violently shook her head, pulling against the chains as much as she could in her weakened state._

 _"_ _Please…no." She cried. "I don't want it."_

 _He ignored her cries, pulling out her thin arm and injected the needle into her arm. The drugs had the immediate effect and her eyes rolled back as she went limp. He heard the cellar door open and William came down._

 _"_ _Good work, Brody. I'll take it from here." He said with a smile as he stalked over to the semi-conscious woman and knelt down to rub her thigh._

 _Brody hesitated, yet still left them alone and did as he was told._

 ** _REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW_**

 ** _I'm desperate_**


	9. Chapter 9

_Hello! I apologize for the delayed update, oh my gosh it's been a while. School has seriously been INSANE these past few weeks. I had four tests this month in one of my classes. Four. And two paper due in another! Yikes! Anyway, I finally had a minute to write and publish this. I hope it's okay. Only a few more weeks and classes will be over and I'll *hopefully* be able to write more and publish in a timely manner. I hope you like this chapter! It's crazy, not going to lie. Be prepared!_

Survival was my only hope, success my only revenge

-Patricia Cornwell

...

"Oh Agent Rossi? I have something I think you'll want to hear." William mused from the interrogation cell, the same sly smile plastered on his face.

Hotch and Rossi were standing outside the room, the clear glass gave them an advantage over the man in the chains. "Go." Hotch said. "I'm going to give the officers on the force an update. It's time we bring everyone in."

Dave smiled and pulled the handle of the door leading him to William. "What can you say that would possibly interest me?"

William chuckled, leaning back as far as he could with the cuffs that connected him to the table. "Trust me. You wanna know."

Rossi took a seat across from the man, never breaking the intense gaze that connected them. "Spill."

"There's a cabin. _Deep_ in the woods." He said, pausing as he studied the profilers face. "It's James' cabin. That's where he'd be."

The agent quickly exited the room, briefly telling the officer to get William back to his cell before searching for the unit chief. He stripped through the small department before he found Hotch talking to the officers.

"Aaron."

Hotch quickly looked at him, not ignoring the serious features of the older man's face. Whatever he had to say, it couldn't wait. He excused himself from the officers and approached his colleague.

"He has a cabin."

…

Emily still hadn't let the team visit her as a whole, and while they understood, they just wanted to be together again. As a family. But they knew she'd tell them when she was ready. Derek had decided that the reason was because she hadn't been around more than three other people at a time for almost a year. That messes with someone, he knew it would. He was just grateful she hadn't refused to see _him_. He had helped her get through the withdrawal and now he would help her heal. He'd be there when she needed him. He would be damned if he let her do this alone. She was finally getting better medically and physically, the doctors had even discussed discharging her a few days earlier. Now, it was the mental healing that could begin. Mental healing would be the hardest.

He was in the middle of telling her one of his childhood stories, the first genuine smile had crept onto her face, when he got the call from the unit chief.

"A cabin? Do we have an address yet?"

"Garcia found it, she sent it to our phones." Hotch said and Derek checked his messages, seeing the address at the top.

"I'll meet you there." Derek said.

"No, stay with Emily. We've got this."

Morgan stepped a little farther away from Emily. "Hotch, I've gotta come. I'll call Garcia to stay with Emily. Please."

Hotch felt conflicted. On one hand he needed the extra agent. Not to mention he understood where the young agent came from. They all wanted to be apart of James Brooks' downfall. But Morgan had a history of anger. Hotch knew that if Morgan got his hands on James, the police chief wouldn't live to see another day.

"Okay." He finally said and the two hung up. Morgan texted Garcia and she said she'd be there soon.

Derek sat back down, his leg bouncing up and down in anticipation. The action didn't go unnoticed by Emily. "Derek, go. I'll be fine until Garcia gets here."

He shook his head. "No, I'll wait."

She raised her eyebrows at him. Did he really think she couldn't handle sitting in a bed alone for a few minutes? "Derek, I'm a big girl. Please, go get 'em."

Derek studied her face, trying to get a sense of what she was really thinking. If he was honest, he feared the worst. That'd she'd find some way to hurt herself. In their line of work, they saw that response to trauma quite often, which only made him even more paranoid.

"Garcia's on her way." He said, to her or to comfort himself, she wasn't exactly sure.

"Derek, go." She said firmly.

He nodded. "I'll be back soon. We'll get 'em."

She nodded and watched him reluctantly leave her in the room. She knew exactly what he feared, and his fears weren't unreasonable, to an extent. She wasn't going to do anything to hurt herself, she wanted to get better. It would take time, and lots of it, but she was going to get there. She turned onto her side and relaxed into the bed, closing her eyes to get a little rest before the chirpy analyst arrived.

Just as she was settling in, she heard the door open and could sense a figure moving closer. "You couldn't leave me alone for three seconds?" She joked as she turned over to face the dark agent.

She opened her eyes and her heart fell into her stomach. She couldn't move.

 _Scream! Get up and get the hell away! DO SOMETHING!_

Her mind screamed at her, desperately, yet she couldn't take her eyes off the man standing in front of her. _Why aren't you listening? Fucking MOVE!_

She was paralyzed.

James smiled. "Hello Emily." She could see the glistening blade in his right hand. "It's good to see I still control you." A sadistic smile washed over his face as he walked towards her. "Those eight months were fun."

…

They had the cabin surrounded, Chief Brooks' entire force was with them, trying to take down their own superior. Hotch had a team in the back and Derek and Rossi were at the front of the small, log home. Rossi knew he was paired with the younger agent to make sure he didn't cross the line when it came to taking Brooks down, but Rossi couldn't lie. He didn't know if he'd pull Morgan off the bastard overly quickly. He'd gladly watch Derek beat the living daylights of the man, he might even make some popcorn and take a seat on the couch.

Hotch's voice crackled through the radio. "Everyone in position?"

Each group 'leader' responded and Hotch gave them the go ahead.

Derek kicked down the door, just as he had almost a month earlier to save Emily. "James Brooks! FBI!"

The cabin was completely dark and silent until Derek heard Hotch's team breaking in through the back, along with the echoing voices. Hotch and his team made their way towards Derek and Rossi, clearing each closet and room. The house was empty.

"Where else would he go?" Morgan asked, the adrenaline was still pumping through his veins. "He has nowhere else to go! His face is all over the news."

Rossi pulled out his cell phone, dialing their technical analyst's number. "Penelope? Brooks' house is empty. We need you to see if Brody or William have a property we don't know about."

Garcia closed her car door, locked in and began walking into the hospital. "Sir, I've already dug through all three of their lives. Brooks' cabin never even came up because it's under his step-brother's name."

All three agent's sighed. Where were they supposed to go now? Their only lead turned up empty.

"Garcia, we'll call you back." Hotch said. "We need to tear this place apart. Maybe there's something here that'l tell us where he'd go."

Morgan could feel the adrenaline winding down, his thoughts becoming clearer and his minds running through each possibility. "Why would Parks give us the cabin?"

The two older profilers stared at him. "A trap." Hotch said blankly as he looked around.

"Emily…" Derek breathed.

Rossi's head shot over to look at the man. "What about her?"

"I…I left her alone." He said. "Garcia's on her way, but…"

"Garcia?" Hotch said into the phone. "Where are you?"

"I'm walking into her room now." Garcia said. "What's going on?"

"Penelope, listen to me." Garcia's blood ran cold at the use of her first name. Hotch _never_ called her Penelope. "Get inside that room and lock the door."

Confused, but determined to keep her friend safe, Garcia locked the door behind her, leaning her back against it. "Okay, okay. What now?"

"Baby girl, do not leave that room until we get there, okay? We're on our way." Derek added in as the men simultaneously began running to the SUV. They were about an hour away from the hospital.

Garcia looked at her friend on the bed and realized she looked much worse than she had in the previous days. She then registered the slight whimpering coming from the bed. "Hey, Em? What's going on?"

Derek gripped the steering wheel tighter at the sentence. "Penelope, what's going on?"

Completely ignoring the men's voices on the phone line, Penelope walked to the side of the bed and looked into her friend's eyes, which were a mix of fear and pain. She had a sheen of sweat above her eyebrows and her arms were twitching slightly. Her lips were a sickly blue shade. "Emily?"

The brunette took an uneven breath, struggling to pull the air into her constricting lungs. "J-Jam-James…"

Penelope's heart stopped. "James? Was he here?" She asked. She went to grab Emily's hand when she noticed the monitors were unclipped from their assigned spots on Emily's chest, and the pulse-ox was removed from her finger.

"My…my stom.." Emily struggled to relay the information to the only person who could help her. "Stomach…" She tried again.

Garcia looked down at the woman's stomach and peeled the white blanket away from her body. "Oh, Emily!" She cried.

"Garcia, what's going on?" Garcia could hear a level of panic and despair in the Unit Chief's voice, something she seldom heard.

"Hotch, she's bleeding!" Her frantic eyes scanned back up to Emily, who had tears rolling down her cheeks. "I think he stabbed her."

"Get a doctor, but Garcia? Do not leave her alone with anyone, you hear me? Nobody."

Garcia was already half way to the door by the time Hotch finished. "I need a doctor in here!" She cried before rushing back to Emily's side. "You're going to be okay…the doctor is coming."

Tears were now streaming down the brunettes face as she struggled to remain conscious and to simply breathe.

Doctor Nelson quickly rushed in along with two nurses. "What seems to be the problem?" He grabbed his stethoscope and put it up to Emily's chest.

"She's—she's bleeding." Garcia pointed to the crimson liquid now seeping through Emily's gown and the sheets. "I think…I think James…"

Doctor Nelson nodded, shining his flashlight into Emily's eyes. "Emily? Can you hear me? Tell me what happened." He placed an oxygen mask over Emily's nose and mouth.

"J…James…"

"Alright, everything's going to be fine." He told her. "Sarah, prep an OR, we need to get in there asap!"

The nurse ran out of the room as Dr Nelson began unhooking Emily's IV from the wall and onto a portable pole. "Penelope, I'm going to need you to wait outside, okay?"

Garcia shook her head violently. "No, no I need to stay with her, I—I can't leave her, Hotch said to—"

"Penelope!" Nelson yelled a bit louder. "We need to save her life. You cannot come into the OR with us." Suddenly the room was filled with what felt like hundreds of hospital personnel rushed into the room, each yelling out commands as they prepped Emily to move.

Dr Nelson stepped away from Emily's side as the team was ready to move the bed. "We've got her, alright? I promise you, she's safe with us." He saw the uncertainty in the woman's eyes. "I won't let anything happen to her."

Penelope hesitantly nodded and they were off. They rushed Emily out of the room and Garcia made her way to the side. She grabbed Emily's hand and ran a hand over her forehead. "You're going to be okay." Emily's eyes were wide and filled with fear, tearing Penelope's insides apart.

"Ma'am, you can't come any farther, I'm sorry." A nurse said, gently grabbed her arm.

She did the only thing she could do in that moment. She let the tears fall from her face as the team of doctors rushed the gurney through the swinging doors and she stood there until they were no longer visible.

"Miss Garcia, there's a waiting room you can wait if you'd like."

Unable to find her voice, Penelope nodded and the nurse guided her into an empty room. Garcia took a seat towards the back of the room so she was facing the door. The nurse gave her a small, but encouraging smile. "I'll update you as soon as I can." She said as she left.

Left alone to herself, her mind began racing. How in the world did James get into Emily's room and past the security guard? Why didn't Emily's monitors start beeping?

"Babygirl, what the hell happened? You hung up on us—"

Garcia looked up at the three men now standing just feet away from her. "I don't know how he got in, it doesn't make sense—"

"Penelope," Rossi said as he sat down in front of the frazzled analyst, "take a deep breath."

She inhaled and exhaled with Rossi a few times and felt herself calming down. "Now, tell us what happened." Rossi said soothingly.

She took another deep breath. "I went into her room, that's when I was still talking to you guys," she nodded unconsciously, "then I heard her crying."

Derek closed his eyes briefly, his fists clenching. The younger agent was always considered the 'hot head' of the group, especially when it involved his team—family—getting hurt.

"She kept saying 'James' and 'stomach' and then I saw the blood." Her gaze was fixated in front of her, a glaze over her eyes. "There was so much blood—"

Rossi noticed the woman was getting off track, her mind was definitely throwing her back to that moment. "What happened after you saw the blood?"

"Uh… I—I called for a doctor and Dr. Nelson came. He started moving all her stuff and then like millions of more doctors and nurses came in. They were all yelling and running around, I—I could hear what they were saying."

"Then they took her into surgery?" Derek asked.

Penelope nodded.

"Okay, then Emily's room is a crime scene. I just had the head of security put the hospital on lockdown. If he's still here he won't get out." Hotch folded his arms. "I'm assuming you have your laptop?"

She nodded again.

"I need you to pull the security camera footage from Emily's hall. We need to figure out how he got to her. You two," he motioned to Derek and Rossi, "talk to that damn security guard. Figure out what the hell happened."

 **I hope you enjoyed! Again, I apologize for the delayed update. Only 3 weeks left until I'm free!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 _This is it! I really hope you enjoy this final installment :)_

 _"_ _As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning."_  
 _\- Criss Jami_

 _..._

The waiting room was now filled with the team. JJ and Reid had driven over from the station as soon as they had heard, JJ now helping Garcia look through the tape.

"Wait, go back." JJ said suddenly, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. "Is that him?"

"That looked like a nurse—" Reid said as Garcia began running his face through her software. Seconds later, the grainy hospital photo was next to a picture of James Brooks in his uniform. "That's him."

"So he dressed up as a nurse and fooled the guard." Rossi stated. "How did he get scrubs?"

An officer knocked on the door before entering the small room. "Agent Hotchner? We've checked every nook and cranny in the hospital. He's not here. They did find these—" He held up a clear plastic bag with what they identified as scrubs. "in the basement. He's gone."

"Shit…" Derek mumbled.

"We need the tape from every security camera you have. Inside and out." Hotch said.

"Of course. I'll pull them now." The older man left and the agents were alone again.

Nobody spoke for a moment. How James managed to fool everyone in the hospital baffled them. "Dave, did you get anything from the security guard?"

"He's a rookie, just assigned to her case a couple days ago."

Hotch's eyes widened, the shock and anger clearly visible on his face, shocking everyone. The unit chief never wore his emotions this clearly. "A rookie? They assigned a _rookie_ to guard a federal agent?"

Before Hotch could bite off someone's head, a nurse came into the room. "Emily Prentiss?"

JJ stood up quickly. "That's us. How is she?"

The nurse sighed and their hearts fell into their stomachs. "She's still in surgery. They've lost her six times but got her back. Sir," she spoke directly to Hotch, "You're listed as her medical proxy. if her heart stops again, would you like us to continue resuscitation? She's received multiple blood and platelet transfusions as well."

Hotch couldn't find the words to speak. How was he supposed to make this decision for her? "What would you do?" He asked when he finally found his voice.

Morgan was shocked. Was there even a question?

The nurse smiled apologetically at them. "They have her stabilized for now, but as you probably know, resuscitation takes a toll on the body. Her brain may have been deprived of oxygen—"

Derek couldn't take it any longer. They weren't talking about some random person, they were talking about Emily Prentiss, for Christ's sake. "Hotch, they save her. That's the answer."

"Morgan, we've seen the effects of repeated resuscitation, not the mention the effects of oxygen deprivation. Prentiss wouldn't want to live like that."

"Aaron…" JJ sobbed. "We can't give up on her."

She had swung and hit her target. They'd already given up on her before and he was not about to give up on her again. "Do what you have to. Save her."

The nurse nodded. "I'll let them know. Someone should be out again soon to update you."

The next five hours were spent pacing, sitting, standing and even some praying. Nobody really spoke, they just kept to themselves yet the presence of each other was enough to keep them relatively calm. As long as Emily was in surgery, they knew she was alive and fighting.

The calm before the storm.

…

Rossi sat in the chair next to the hospital bed, checking his watch periodically. Emily's surgery had taken a little more than seven hours due to the complications. She had undergone an MRI and her brain function seemed to be normal, thankfully. They'd all been near tears when the doctor told them. Hotch, Derek and Reid were back at the stationing trying to work with what they had, which was very little. He and JJ had taken the first shift with Emily. Hotch wasn't taking any more chances and decided two of them would be with her at all times.

He looked at his watch. 5:30am. Four and a half hours since the surgery had ended. On a normal day, he'd be heading into work right now. But these last nine months had been _anything_ but normal. He turned and peered over his shoulder at the blonde who'd been sleeping on the small couch under the window. How the woman survived caring for a newborn on top of their workload, he'd never understand.

A soft moan from the bed captivated his senses.

"Emily?"

The woman in the bed stirred slightly, a grimace dancing across her face as her eyes squeezed shut just before they opened.

"Hey, kiddo. How do you feel?" He asked, intentionally raising his voice a bit louder to wake the sleeping blonde.

Her eyes were unfocused and cloudy, yet he was unable to read her face. "Hey, Em. You gave us quite the scare there." JJ said, relief evident in her voice.

Emily hadn't given them any sign she was aware they were present, uneasiness quickly washed over the two agents. JJ grabbed Emily's hand. "Emily, squeeze my hand."

Nothing.

The whimpering began growing louder and more intense until it was nearly a scream. "JJ, go get the doctor." Rossi said. JJ made no efforts to move, instead she stared wide-eyed at Emily. "JJ! Now!"

JJ blinked and looked at him. "Right." She breathed as she ran out into the hall.

"Hey, Emily, look at me." He guided gently. Dave placed his hands around her head, letting his right hand stroke over her forehead and into her hairline. Attempting to soothe her he whispered 'shh' into her ear, trying to ignore her screams, pleading for her to calm down enough to speak. She finally blinked and looked into his eyes. "Emily, what's wrong?"

"Hurts." She groaned.

"What hurts?"

She let a sob escape her mouth. " _Everything!_ "

Doctor Nelson walked briskly to the side of Emily's bed, with JJ only steps behind him. "What seems to be the problem?"

"She woke up screaming, I—I think she's in pain." JJ said.

Doctor Nelson's face fell. "That is to be expected for someone who declined any pain meds—"

"Declined pain meds!?" JJ said, her voice raising closer to a yell.

Rossi sighed. He understood her reasoning, but it didn't mean he had to like it. Dave looked down at the woman. There was a sheen of sweat above her eyebrows and her breathing was rapid and uneven. "Emily, you don't have to do this."

She shuddered as she took in a breath, closing her eyes momentarily before reopening them. "Y—yes I d—do."

…

"Spencer," Emily forced out, "it _hurts_." She finished as her voice cracked.

The genius grabbed her hand, allowing her to squeeze it as she needed. She was lying flat on her back and had a clear oxygen cannula pumping air into her nostrils along with a cool, damp washcloth over her sweaty forehead.

"I know it does. But you, you can do this."

How could he be so sure? It was known that the human body heals faster when it's not experiencing so much damn pain, and god knows Emily was nearing a human's maximum pain threshold.

"I—I want it. Please, please," She cried, "I want it."

Spencer shook his head. Although he'd do anything to make her pain go away, he also knew how terrible the world of addiction was. He'd been in her shoes only a few years earlier and was thankfully beating it. But if she relapsed now, god knows what would happen. She'd been taking it for months longer than he had, making her addiction relapse even worse than his own had been. He had to be sure.

"Emily, I know it hurts. But trust me, relapse is worse.

"I—I can't…I can't do this. I'm no—not—"

"You're the strongest person I've met. You can do this. Just let it out. Scream, cry, do whatever you need to, but you _will_ get through it."

She scanned over his face, locking her eyes with his before she let the tears roll down her cheeks freely as if water had finally broken through a damm. Sobs wracked her body as the pain engulfed her.

"Shh.." Spencer soothed as he gently dabbed the damp cloth over her face.

"Hey, kid. Hotch needs your genius back at the station." Morgan said as he leaned against the door frame. "I've got it."

As much as Spencer hated leaving her, he knew the team needed him in order to find the son of a bitch who was responsible for everything.

All Emily could feel was the pain. She barely registered the switch of visitors until she felt a body slipping in the bed next to her. For a split second she panicked and tried to scoot away from the intruder. But a combination of the new pain waves and the sound of a familiar, soft voice stopped her.

"Shh…it's just me. It's okay." Derek whispered into her ear as he laid on his side, moving his arm above her head and stroked the sweat-soaked hair away from her face. "Here." He held out his hand, which she quickly grasped.

"I've got you." He said as he planted a small kiss on her hairline.

…

"JJ, I need you to set up a press conference."

JJ looked at him, confusion evident in her blue eyes. "For what?"

"Emily. We need to announce that she survived the attack. Publicly."

Reid's mouth dropped open. Hotch had said to _avoid_ the media, not spill everything to them. Not to mention, Emily was a private person. Spencer knew she wouldn't want the word to know about what had happened.

"Hopefully it'll draw Brooks out of hiding. He won't be able to let her live, he expected her to die." Rossi stated.

Hotch nodded in agreement. JJ nodded slightly, understanding yet still felt uneasy about the whole idea.

Less than two hours later, JJ had just wrapped up the press conference. News that the Federal Agent, Emily Prentiss, had survived an attack by James Brooks, former Police Chief, and was now recovering in the hospital. JJ thanked the media who then attempted to follow her and spewed follow-up questions at her as he quickly slid back into the precinct.

"Now we wait." Hotch said, his eyes staring at the cream colored walls.

"You think it'll work? Would he really risk going to the hospital again?" JJ asked.

Rossi sighed. "He's got nothing to lose at this point. We just have to be ready."

In order for their plan to work it, unfortunately, meant they basically had to allow him to walk into the hospital and into Emily's room. Derek had explained their plan and although he could see through her mask of confidence, she had agreed.

Their plan, as Hotch had explained it, involved the entire police force. They would announce to the press, yet again, that they had a 'very promising' lead and would have the power of the police force plus the FBI agents to take down the man terrorizing the town. This would allow James to believe the focus would be on the lead and not Emily, giving him his chance to strike. However, they knew otherwise. Garcia would be monitoring the security tapes along with the regular hospital security guard for any sign of James while the others would be stationed at different points around the hospital, with one agent hidden in Emily's room. Derek had eagerly volunteered.

"Let's roll." Hotch said as he signaled for the dozens of SUV's to start going, sirens blasting towards the outskirts of the city as if they were leaving.

Little would James know, Hotch and the team were already stationed in their positions.

"Morgan?" Emily's shaking voice whispered through the room for the third time since Derek had arrived.

"I'm still here." He said soothingly from the dark corner near the door.

"Okay." She sighed and closed her eyes, wincing when she pulled at her stitches.

"He won't make it near you, I promise." He reassured her, earning a quick nod from her.

Hotch's voice cracked through the microphone in his ear. "He's here, two floors down. Morgan, stay alert."

He held the small mouthpiece up his mouth, "got it."

"He's here?" Emily asked nervously from the bed.

"He is."

He heard her release a strained breath and he cursed at James under his breath for making her this uneasy. She knew Morgan was in the room, yet she kept needing his reassurance. Was it because she didn't think they could protect her? He didn't know but it still upset him that this pathetic man still had this strong of a strong grip on her life.

Emily gasped and Derek knew he was just outside. She seemed to be completely frozen on the bed when the doorknob began to twist. He drew his weapon, ready to step out from the shadows and face the man who'd caused their team to suffer for months.

The door opened and closed behind the man. "It's good to see you again, Emily."

Just as James took a step closer to Emily, Derek came out from the shadows. "FBI, do not move." Derek said sternly, his eyes narrowed at the shocked man. He'd clearly not expected to see Morgan here.

Emily simply froze on the bed, her eyes glued to James' figure and her breathing was heavy. Derek focused his gaze on the man in front of him.

"I just wanted to visit my favorite girl, now is that a crime?" He said, a sadistic grin spreading across his face.

"It is when you held her captive for eight months." Derek spat back, tightening his grip on his gun. It was taking _everything_ in him not to shoot the bastard right here. But he knew he couldn't. Hotch had made that extremely clear. If she shot him in cold blood, his job was on the line. For a moment, Derek weighed in on the idea. Surely, he'd either lose his job or go to prison. Possibly both. However, the idea of James rotting away in prison for the rest of his life made him almost giddy.

James made a tentative step towards Emily's bed and Morgan stepped closer to him, his finger squeezing the trigger just a bit. Not enough to fire, but enough to make it very easy to fire if necessary.

"Don't move." He placed emphasis on each word.

James looked at Emily, whose face was contorted in fear as she tried to sink deeper into the bed to put as much space between herself and James as possible.

James stopped and reached to his coat pocket.

"Don't do it, James!"

Just as James brought the gun up towards Emily, Derek fired three shots. Three chest shots. James grunted as the bullets entered his chest, losing his grip on the gun as he fell backwards. Derek quickly walked over to him and kicked the gun away, despite knowing the man was dead before he even felt for a pulse. Still, he bent down as placed his two fingers on the man's neck. Nothing. He closed his eyes for a brief second as relief washed over him. It was over.

Moments later, Hotch and the rest of the team came sprinting into the room, out of breath from running through the busy hospital after hearing the gunshots. The agents stood in the door, each looking at James' lifeless body.

"He pulled a gun on 'er."

Hotch exhaled and nodded. He understood and if he was completely honest, he was relieved James was dead. It meant Emily wouldn't have to sit through a painful trial.

Derek stood up and looked at Emily whose wide eyes were still glued to James' body. "Hey…"

Her eyes remained fixed on the man. "He's dead."

Morgan couldn't tell if she was asking or stating it to herself. Either way, he nodded. He noticed the tears in her eyes and he slowly walked to her side. He sat on the edge of the bed where JJ joined him while the other gave her some space, not wanting to overwhelmed their shocked friend.

JJ reached for Emily's hand and squeezed. "He's gone. It's over"

Emily finally broke her gaze away from her now dead captor. "It's over." She said as a smile spread across her face and she briefly tilted her head back and looked at the ceiling. "I'm free."

 **I think this is it. The last chapter, we made it! I may write a short epilogue, but I'd honestly be happy leaving it like this where there is room for a little imagination and interpretation on your part as to what happens next. Thoughts?**

 **I'd also like to thank everyone who read this story and reviewed! It really means a lot to me and I'm glad we've made it to the end together. I'll probably start another story soon, who knows. Hopefully.**

 **Until then, xoxo**


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